Father Figures
by RobinTheSlytherin
Summary: Looking up from his grading, Severus Snape finds himself face to face with two elderly strangers from another time- a 100-year-old Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Both determined to play a role in Snape's life, as they try and find a way back home.
1. Chapter 1

**SUMMARY – Looking up from his grading, Severus Snape finds himself face to face with two elderly strangers from another time- a 100-year-old Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Both determined to play a role in Snape's life, as they try and find a way back home.**

 **A/N—another story!**

 **Find me on Facebook on my page! Robintheslytherin**

 **I will post all my stories there first, as well as related items!**

 **Father Figures**

 **By RobinTheSlytherin**

 **.**

 **Chapter One**

 **The Strangers**

 **.**

Severus Snape sat behind his old oak desk, scrawlingdesk, scrawling scathing comments across a third year's essay.

He sat stiffly, reading and marking with an impassive expression behind his stoic eyes.

It was nearly dinnertime when Severus finished the last of the essays. He sat back with a sigh and stared down his forearm venomously.

His knuckles tightened white around his forearm, as if trying to squeeze the mark away. Every now and then he pondered taking a knife to his arm and cutting the damn thing out of this skin.

Severus Snape thought bitterly of what his life had become. He thought about those he was unable to save, and the one he did manage to save, hated him.

There was no one who had truly been on his side, except Lily, and in the end, he lost her too.

Severus continued to stare at his clothed forearm, until an unfamiliar voice broke his train of thought.

"Do that long enough and you're going to burn a hole through your arm." Came a deep rugged voice.

"Don't waste you'reyour breath, he won't listen." growled another voice as sharp as a knife. "Stubborn is Sev's middle name."

Severus leapt to his feet, banishing his wand towards the unknown voices before him.

As the unspoken hex shot out of Snape's wand, the cloaked strangers flicked it away as one might swat a fly.

"If you don't want me to boil out your eyeballs, reveal yourselves! "!" Snape demanded. "NOW!"

"Merlin, I forgot how cheery you were!" the first cloaked figured chuckled deeply, pulling back his hood to reveal his ruggedly handsome face.

The stranger was nearly as tall as Severus but looked considerably older. From a glance the man looked to be around 70 years old .old.

His dark grey hair held streaks of white, and was combed elegantly back, except for his fringe that covered a portion of his forehead .forehead. His white beard and distinguished mustache wasn't long, but the length reached his clavicle.

Severus noticed how strong the man looked despite his obvious age, and how many scars he bore.

And there was something else about him.

Severus lowered his wand a fraction as the first man peered over his silver, round rimmed glasses at him.

But it wasn't the glasses that struck Severus, but rather the vibrant color of his bright green eyes.

Severus froze, his skin paling even more than usual.

The man smiled softly at Severus, as if he was an old friend. There was a genuine warmth and understanding in his eyes that startled Severus.

And then… there was the other stranger.

The second figure held a familiar walking stick with the head of a silver snake on its handle.

The second man wasn't as rugged, but equally as aged as the first. He stood tall with an air of regal elegance and grace.

His face, though worn, was pointed and pale. His silver hair was brighter than the first man and slicked back into a ribbon on the base of his long neck.

His silver hair was long, and hung down his back, in a most familiar fashion.

is piercing grey eyes held none of the warmth that the green-eyed man possessed.

 _This_ man appeared colder, crueler, and far more cunning.

Severus refused to lower his wand, which made the green-eyed stranger's smile grow wider.

"Am I so unrecognizable to you, Snape?" the first man's deep voice asked, sounding very tired "Out of everyone, I thought _you_ would know _my_ face."

"Indeed." sneered the second man, narrowing his grey eyes on Severus with skepticism. He gripped the head of his walking stick, twisting it tightly.

"Who. Are. You?" Severus ordered, enunciating each syllable.

The elderly wizards were quiet for a moment, leaning back against the class desks.

The man with the vibrant green eyes crossed his strong arms over his chest, considering him for a moment before speaking.

"He's a child, no matter how we might remember him." The pale, silver haired man hissed, pinching the bridge of his pointed nose.

The elderly wizard with the green eyes straightened, taking five long steps towards Severus.

Severus refused to lower his wand as the tip of it connected with the older mans chest.

In the background, the second man raised his walking stick threateningly, but halted as the green- eyed man raised a hand.

"Look….at… _me_." the man whispered, looking deeply into Severus's black eyes.

Something in those words made Severus feel as if someone had walked over his grave.

And then he watched as the elder wizard raised a single calloused hand to his forehead and swept back his white fringe.

Snape's eyes widened in horror as his hand went limp, and his black wand clattered to the floor.

"Potter?" Snape breathed, shaking his head in denial.

He raked his black eyes over the forms of the two wizards, taking a small step back.

The elderly green- eyed wizard smiled warmly, as he swooped to pick up Snape's wand, holding it out to him from his crouched position on the floor.

"Hello Professor Snape, its been a long time." Harry Potter smiled exaggerating the wrinkles by the corners of his eyes and around his mouth.

Slowly, he rose to his feet, so gracefully that Severus wonders how old the wizard could possibly be "It seems trouble has found me yet again, and I need your help."

" _A-hem_?"

Severus blinked glancing behind the elderly Potter to the pale faced wizard sneering behind them.

Severus flickered his black eyes towards the familiar walking stick.

"Draco?" Severus

"Oh _please_ don't look so shocked." The elderly Draco Malfoy replied, snapping his wand back into his cane " _Clearly_ , anything involving Potter,involves trouble…No matter how much time has passed, or how old we've become."

Severus narrowed his eyes, a dark shadow passing over his skeptical black eyes.

"No." Severus shook his head, gripping his wand. "Harry Potter, and Draco Malfoy are both six years. Either you are those _same_ boys and took an Aging Potion… _Or_ you are imposters. Either way, your words will not suffice with me- _drop_ your wands."

"Severus," The elderly Potter spoke gently "I understand your skepticism, but you also must understand that after a lifetime of waswar and death, that I cannot simply hand over my wand to yoyuyou."

"Huh, I'd like to see him try." The Elder Draco chuckled darkly.

"Violent delights have violent ends, old friend." Potter replied in a deep voice laced with weary.

"Indeed, they do." Draco grinned wickedly, causing the wrinkled around his mouth and eyes to pull at his skin.

"What the devil are you?!" Severus shouted, further enraged at the game he thought was being played on him. "WHO are you!?"

"Devil?" The Elder Draco laughed "the devil's got nothing on _me, Uncle_ Sev."

Without warning Severus unleashed a flood of dark curses including one that turned one's skin inside out, one that vanished the cartilage between your joints, and another that made your ribs tear out of one's chest and back.

One after another stream of curses rained down upon the two elderly wizards.

The elder Potter, despite his age, danced around the curses easily- almost stylishly.

"Sevreus, enough! What we say is the truth!" Potter snapped, making Severus feel as if he was a school boy being reprimanded.

"LIES!" Severus hissed, causing the elder Draco to bark out laughing as he swatted away a decapitation curse.

"The future government of our world betrayed us!" The elder Harry shouted, looking weary and mournful "After we gave our lives to restoring order and defeating dark lord after dark lord! THEY BETRAYED US! THEY TRIED TO KILL US!"

Severus stopped the flow of curses but did not lower his wand. He studied the old wizards, looking between Harry and Draco- looking into their old scarred, tired faces.

"They sent the killing curse at both of us." the elder Harry panted, bowing his head. His green eyes flickered across the floor "We ran like fugitives through the Ministry. They tried to destroy our wands, but we fled. We hid in The Sands of Time room, where they held the last remaining Time Turners…They found us. We fought as best we could, but there were twenty wizards. We fought them off as best as we could."

The elder Draco slid a hand through his silver hair, stepping back until he was shoulder to shoulder with Harry who became silent.

"They fired the Killing Curse at me." Draco spat, looking at Harry as if he wanted to punch the old man in the throat "And then Potter did what he always does. He threw himself in front of me. But as we fell back into the shelf of Time Turners, something happened."

The Elder Harry looked up at Snape, giving him an odd tremulous look.

"We landed on the floor, in that same room. Only no one was there. We ran as fast as we could through the ministry, confused and on edge." Harry continued "But then we saw Minister Scrimgeour, and we knew something was wrong…deeply wrong."

"And you expect me to believe that?" Severus barked, baring his teeth "And even if I did, the Potter I know is a lazy, arrogant, attention seeking swot- a troublemaker with a death wish—"

The Elder Harry let out a raspy laugh that began bout of coughing.

"Then by all means, child!" The elder Harry continued to cough though his laughter "procure us a spoonful of Veritaserum, and all your questions shall be answered."

"You dare call me—"

"but you _are_ Sev." Draco sniffed away his laughter "compared to our 100 years, you _are_ a child."

Severus looks deeply into their eyes one at a time. The silence stretches between them. Understanding what Snape was doing, elderly wizards keep their old eyes open for the Potions Master to penetrate.

Then after several minuets Severus retreats from their minds, looking ashen and deathly pale.

He drops his wand, and steps back until his lower back hits his desk.

Severus observed the elderly wizards in horror.

"one hundred…years …old?" Severus breaths, then slowly reached behind him to open a drawer to his desk, pulling out a bottle of Fire Whiskey.

Without looking away from the pair, he lifts the bottle to his lips and drinks a quarter of the bottle.

As Severus placed the bottle onto his desk, he let out a bitter sigh.

"Why must you _always_ complicate things, Potter?"

.

 **A/N— updates sporadically because I'm trash.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N— I'm so pleased so many of you enjoyed the first chapter! Here's another that I hope you enjoy!**

 **Find me on FB at Robintheslytherin , where I will be posting off of my updates FIRST!**

 **Father Figures**

 **By RobinTheSlytherin**

 **.**

 **Chapter 2**

 **The Headmasters Office**

.

Draco Malfoy walked past Harry, leaning heavily against his walking stick. No longer was it simply used for style, but necessity.

Draco held out his hand expectantly, to which the Potions Master eyed suspiciously.

"Well?" Draco snapped his fingers, to which Severus handed the elder Malfoy his whiskey.

Severus studied Draco Malfoys hands as he drank his fill. He expected them to be soft, and free of blemishes, reflecting the life of a pureblood, but that was not so.

Hands often reflected a man's life. It reflected characteristics such as age, and they life they lived.

Draco's wrinkled hands were gaunt and sallow and so very thin. His skin looked as thin as paper and Severus noticed how vivid the blue veins roping the back of his hands were.

His hands should have reflected his fine pureblood status. Instead, they resembled someone deprived of a life worth living.

Severus Snape still couldn't believe he was looking into the face of his own godson who was now an old, old man.

"Severus, I know this is a great imposition on you, but I can't think of a more capable wizard, than you." The elder Harry spoke roughened, with the dignity and maturity far beyond his years. "If anyone can help us get back to our time, it would be you. Besides Albus, there's no one as brilliant as you."

" _Excuse_ me?" Severus sneered, snatching away his whiskey from Draco, who knocked him in the shins with his cane "Potter, what makes you think I would _ever_ help the likes of you?"

The elder Harry shrugged, stroking his white beard with his calloused hand.

"Because you're the bravest man I've ever known." He replied with a sad smile, causing Severus to flinch "despite how horrid you were to me as a child, I believe this. But for me, that was nearly eighty-seven years ago. Even for a child as brash and reckless as I was. Eighty-seven years is quite a long time…and I've grown up."

"What do you know of the man I am?" Severus leered "How do you know would you know anything about me!?" Severus demanded harshly "No one has ever called me _brave_ , and to say so without knowing my true character reflects on how ignorant you truly are."

Severus appeared to stagger away from Harry's gaze, turning on his heel towards his desk. He fell into his armchair, leaning his elbows on the desk and massaging his temples with his fingers.

"Always the little ray of pitch black, aren't you Sev?" Draco laughed sharply. "But I can still see some light in you. Yes, I can see it."

"I am a product of war, and violence." Severus sighed, wishing he were anywhere but here.

"The horror that you have been through _is not the man you are."_ Harry said slowly, walking towards Snape's ok desk. He laid his calloused, scarred hands on either side of the wood and leaned in, looking seriously into Severus's black eyes. "Are you listening, Severus? Look at me…You are not the villain. You are not the monster you think you are. And I know exactly where your _true_ loyalties lie."

"You underestimate who I am and what I'm capable of." Severus glared up at the old wizard through his greasy hair that hung in curtains around his face. His black eyes seemed alive with hatred and fire, but also very cold all at once.

The Elder Draco, leaned against his walking stick, looking down at Severus with a mixture of emotions.

"You say _this_ is currently our, sixth year at Hogwarts?" Draco asked, twisting the silver snake head "If so, this is the year I remember you teaching me something quite important. It was this year I became a Death Eater."

Severus flinched, looking away from the old silver haired wizard, his lean body taunt.

"I remember you finding me in an empty classroom. I was holding a dead bird and crying." Draco's voice lowered "I remembered what you said to me… _'I know you're afraid, but do not show weakness'_ you said to me ' _as far as anyone knows, you are emotionless… it is the most efficient buffer to pain that I know. It will keep you alive'…_ and you were right, it kept me alive. I was a stupid child and closing myself to the world kept me alive."

Harry still leaned over the desk, his green eyes filled with empathy. Severus regretted looking into those old understanding eyes. He felt as if he were looking into the eyes of a father figure, which was something he didn't want to feel when looking at a Potter.

"But its not the only way to stay alive. I met evil when I was a child." Draco continued, quietly "and I had you…we may be stuck in the past Sev, but I promise for as long as I'm here, I will be your ally."

"And I." Harry nodded, earning a glare from Severus.

Severus stood, deliberately avoiding their eyes as he stood by the fireplace.

"Neither of you are to meddle in my life anymore than you already have." Severus whispered "Now we must see the headmaster. Surely his qualifications to deal with any trouble _Potter_ finds himself in outshines my own. I daresay he is an expert by this point."

"Yeah." The elder Harry grumbled with a small amount of regret "I was a thoughtless, hormonal little shit back then."

" _Presently_." Draco corrected, limping towards Severus.

"I still can't believe we're actually back here." Harry shook his head. His eyes clouded over as he briefly studied the potions lab, then Severus.

"Surely you had ample time with Hogwarts from your own time." Severus sneered, grabbing a handful of floo powder.

"Not really." The elder Harry commented, as he stepped inside of the fireplace beside Draco "Hogwarts has been in ruins for the past fifty years where we're from…nothing but rumble, really."

Severus couldn't take it anymore. He stepped beside the old wizards and dropped the floo powder.

"The headmasters office!" Severus yelled, causing green flames to consume the trio.

…

The first two thing the trio noticed, as they were spat out of the fireplace, was a pair of giant knitting needles, and loud music.

Chamber music to be exact.

The knitting needles were suspended in mid air, crossing one another, and pulling together bight orange and bright green yarn.

As the elder Draco and Harry wondered what the needles might be making, when a cheery voice from above answered.

"it's the latest knitting pattern from 'Yarnivore Today'." Albus Dumbledore smiled happily as he descended his spiral.

Both elderly wizards spun around, with wide eyes. Albus walked towards Severus sprightly and upright. He wore robes of midnight purple with constellations covering the hem. His silver hair was long, his eyes twinkling and bright.

"Headmaster, Potter and Malfoy—" Snape began, but was cut off as the headmaster chuckled at the sight of the elder Harry and Draco.

"Oh my! It seems a few students came into contact with your aging potion, Severus." Albus tutted in understanding "but I hardly think this warrants expulsion."

"if only that were the case." Severus sneered hatefully. "And in any case—"

"Come now," Albus smiled warmly, patting Snape's shoulder affectionately "I think the effects of the potion is punishment enough—"

"Pardon me?" Draco stated coldly, leaning on his walking stick.

"Um..." Harry frowned, crossing his muscular arms, littered with scars.

"You see, Severus?" Albus chuckled immoderately, splaying his blackened hand towards them "They understand the consequences of tampering with your potions. Don't worry boys, the ill-advised effects will wear off soon. Surly these bodies have served as enough punishment, Severus. Goodness knows I almost didn't recognize them with those ghastly—!"

"WE DID _NOT_ TAKE ANY DAMN POTION, YOU CUNNIVING BASTARD!" Draco shouted, raising his cane threateningly.

Harry reached out to grab his friend, locking his elbows under the old wizard's arms.

Albus blinked, then gave a bemused look to Severus, who nodded in agreement, his expression heavily concerned.

When the headmaster turned back to the elderly wizards, his face mirroring the Potion Masters serious expression.

"I insist you explain things to me, Severus." The twinkle behind Albus' blue eyes faded into something darker "What is going on here?"

Severus stepped forward and whispered something into the headmaster's ear, who paled. His blue eyes wandered from Severus to the old wizards with such haunting and marred faces.

"Are you certain, Severus?" Albus breathed, looking bewildered "Absolutely?"

"I'm afraid so." Said Severus curtly "I used occlumency."

For a moment all Albus Dumbledore could do was stare at Severus, his blue eyes looking into the Potion Masters eyes and seeing the truth. He shook his head wildly as if in denial about the situation.

"I don't know if I should welcome further information of our future…or fear it." Albus said in a thin voice that didn't suit him.

This time Harry let Draco go and stepped forward until he stood before the headmaster.

"I suppose we're strangers you and I. "the elder Harry smiled in a deep roughened voice, the wrinkles around his mouth lifting slightly "Although, I have the unfair advantage of knowing you a great deal more about you, Albus."

"Harry?" Dumbledore whispered, looking deeply into his tired face full of wrinkles and scars.

"Hello again, Albus." Harry rasped in a deep voice, as he placed his calloused hands on the headmaster's shoulders and squeezed. He squeezed again as if to make sure Albus wasn't just a figment of his imagination.

"Oh, my dear boy." Albus replied "What has this world done to you…and you Mister Malfoy."

"If you think the outside is bad, you should see the inside" Draco laughed cruelly, tapping a thin finger to his temple.

"Enough Draco, this all must be very disconcerting to them" Harry sighed, dropping his hands from the headmaster's shoulders.

"Gee, I imagine what _that_ must feel like?" Draco scoffed, seating himself in one of the headmaster's armchairs.

"What Draco is trying to say, headmaster is that we're just as confused as you." Harry shut his eyes. He had a calloused hand through his dark grey hair with white streaks, then dropped it like a stone. "Our government meant to kill us, we ran, they caught us, and we fell against a shelf of Time Turners."

"The Ministry?" Albus asked "So we lost the war then?"

"Oh no, we won the first war." Draco laughed bitterly "And the next four as well!"

"Voldemort was destroyed?"

" _and_ his horcruxes." Harry nodded, causing the headmaster's eyes to widen in terror. "those meetings we had when I was sixteen proved to be valuable."

This time it was Snape's turn to speak, as he turned to face the headmaster.

" _What_ horcruxes'?" Severus asked abruptly, narrowing his eyes. "Is this what you've been revealing to the Potter brat? The very same information you've denied me?"

"Severus, you must understand, the reason I didn't tell—"

"I follow your orders!" Severus looked mutinous, rounding on the headmaster "I've given you everything I have, and STILL you do not trust me?!"

"It is not a question of trust. I have, as we both know, limited time. It was essential that I give the boy as much information as possible for him to do what he needs to do." Albus answered looking weary "You will have enough to do here at Hogwarts once I am gone."

"Severus has the right to know headmaster." Harry chided, causing Snape's eyes to widen in surprise "You shouldn't underestimate him."

"It is he that underestimates the amount of danger he places himself in!" The headmaster defended himself "and how could you expect me to give information to one who hangs off the arm of Lord Voldemort?"

"How many times must I say it!?" Severus cried hopelessly, angrily "everything I do is on YOUR orders!"

"You cannot keep placing Severus' life on the line, and then deny him the truth." The elder Harry nodded in agreement with Snape "If he is willing to die for the cause, he has more than earned such valuable information. By this rate it won't be his loyalty that kills him, but _your_ stubbornness. If you refuse to tell him, Albus, _I_ will."

Severus looked at the elder Harry Potter, stricken that he would stand up for him. No one had ever stood up for him before…besides Lily.

"Are you threatening me Harry? Is this what you do now?" Albus asked looking on in disappointment at the elder wizard of his favorite student.

A bark of laugher cut through the threateningly tense atmosphere, causing everyone to stare at Draco.

"He disembowels. _That's_ what he _does_." The elder Draco laughed terribly, rolling his walking stick across his lap "Once we were heroes- at least Potter was. But everything's changed since then. You can't manipulate or lie to us anymore, Dumbledore, and I suggest you stop doing so to Uncle Sev."

Harry held up a hand to silence Draco "While we understand your trepidation for your plans, I assure you, we will help you for as long as we're here as much as possible. And I will tell you everything about the horcruxes' that I know."

"Will someone _please_ explain what a damn horcrux is?!" Severus snapped.

Harry opened his mouth to explain, but was silence as Draco groaned, lifting himself to his feet.

"Well, while explaining the whole of our eighty-seven-year history sounds _fantastic_ , I'm going into the woods to scream for a while." Draco sighed, limping towards the door "Anyone want to join me?"

"I'll find you in an hour, old friend." Harry smiled, watching Draco place a notice me not spell over himself.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Mister Malfoy." Dumbledore commented seriously.

"Well, I don't give a damn what you think. So there" Draco smirked, limping out of the headmaster office.

Albus' jaw dropped as Draco slammed the office door, then clicked his jaw shut and turned to study Harry with concern.

"Is Mister Malfoy a bad person?" Albus asked, utterly thrown by the old man who didn't resemble his younger counterpart in the least.

"Draco?" Harry asked then shrugged "Depends on who you ask… anyway, let's sit down. What I have to tell you is quite heavy, maybe we could have some tea brought to us?"

"Or something stronger." Severus replied, working hard to conceal his smirk.

.

.

 **A/N— more to come! Next chapter 'A Brief History'. If you enjoyed, please drop me a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Father Figures**

 **RobinTheSlytherin**

 **Chapter 3**

 **A Brief History- Part I**

 **.**

Draco Malfoy limped through the corridors under a disillusion charm, leaning heavily on his walking stick.

He could smell dinner from the Great Hall on the other side of the castle and smiled as he inhaled deeply. Nostalgia hit him like a herd of hippogriffs.

There was something to be said for the food at Hogwarts. It smelled and tasted like home… and safety.

As he walked, Draco memorized every detail of the castle. He hadn't seen it whole in many, many years. He remembered being a boy, causing trouble, and playing on the Quidditch pitch. He remembered his fierce rivalry with Potter, which seems almost laughable now. After all they had been through, such a memory of hating Harry seemed more like a distant dream.

Had he really been that boy? It was a thought that made the elderly man shake his head.

As Draco turned a corner the sound of arguing voices broke his reminiscing. He stopped walking and leaned against the stone wall beside him. He wasn't paying attention to where the voices were coming from until Draco heard _her voice._

"Honestly, Harry!" _she_ huffed "you don't know what those spells can do! You need to turn that potions book into Professor McGonagall!"

"It helped me in Potions, didn't it?" a young voice replied in irritation.

"We don't know who this Half Blood Prince is- how can you trust his writing?" _She_ demanded.

"Hermione, for the last time!" Harry snapped angrily "Its been helping me with potions, and for once I'm actually learning something. It's not like Snape ever taught us anything useful. Too busy taking points away from Gryffindor."

"I know you mean well, but I'm not familiar with any of those spells—"

"Well, you don't know _everything,_ do you?"

" _I've_ done research, unlike _you_!"

Draco saw the pair walking towards him and froze, palling considerably. His expression changed from one of nostalgic delight, to one of utter grief. It was if someone had sliced open his chest and poured in ice, then proceeded to sew it back up. Draco's heart sank sickeningly low, the tips of his fingers felt cold as ice. His heart beat fiercely, like a caged animal.

And then he saw _her._

It was her hazel eyes that caught his breath, first.

His old grey eyes took in her pink lips that formed a frown, her long wavy brown hair bouncing behind her, her slender girlish limbs…everything.

Draco stood there in his hundred-year-old age, staring into her youthful face, wishing he could sink into the wall.

Wishing the Ministry _had_ managed to put him out of his misery. Anything was better than this.

The temperature around him might have dropped twenty degrees.

No…it did!

Draco noticed bits of snow falling and focused his magic back under control.

Draco's gaunt, wrinkled hand shook around his walking stick. His breath caught in his throat, and Draco couldn't will himself to blink. He felt a terrible thrill of grief and horror course through his veins, like ice.

And then _she_ stopped in her tracks, and Draco knew from the expression on her face that she knew he was there…or at least something wasn't right.

He knew that expression better than he knew his own face.

"Mione?" the young Harry stopped, looking back at her with concern.

"Shh!" Hermione hissed, looking around herself, brushing the bits of snow from her robes.

Draco watched her round hazel eyes dance around. He watched the light from the torches reflect in those brown orbs, and how they glittered in the light. He held his breath, unable to look away.

Her small hand wrapped itself around her wand, and Draco could see a faint pearl sheen to her nails. They weren't manicured, but they were neatly painted none- the- less.

And then she took a step towards him without looking directly at him.

Draco's heart nearly stopped, and for a moment he wished it would have.

He felt his face pale further.

"Oi!" called the voice of Ron Weasley, jogging toward Hermione and Harry, happily.

Draco wandlessly cast a spell over his shoes and cane to silent them, backing away.

"You'll never guess who I found placing Amortenita on some chocolates!" Ron laughed, swinging his arms around Harry and Hermione's shoulders simultaneously "Romilda VANE! Oh God, I think you're her next victim, mate!"

Hermione perked up, snapping her attention away from the wall to Harry who blushed vividly.

"I told you!" Hermione laughed as the trio walked back to Gryffindor tower.

As their voices began to fade in the distance, Draco remained rooted to the spot.

After a few moments, Draco remained standing in utter silence. He could hear the wind outside the stained-glass windows, which was the only thing that broke the silence.

Then suddenly he felt himself take deep sharp gulps of air, trying to steady himself, trying to regain some amount of control.

Draco's cane slipped from his hand. He fell to his hands and knees, hyperventilating.

It had been a very- _very_ long time since he had felt like this…

He was shaking. cold sweat dripped from the end of his pointed nose.

He felt nauseous and trembled with effort to rise. He fought the overwhelming urge to scream out until he was blue in the face. Instead he pounded his thin, heavily wrinkled fist against the ground.

Draco stared at the stone floor, as his mouth parted and he breathed—

"Hermione."

…..

"Where to begin?" The elder Harry contemplated aloud, taking another long sip of his tea. "I suppose I can start with saying this…that people do bad things in order to survive, and that it _doesn't_ make them bad people."

"I understand that." Albus nodded with a frown, setting his tea cup aside "However, I believe we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy."

Severus narrowed his eyes at the Headmaster but remained silent. Harry did not.

"Funny how you yourself have flouted those very same words, Albus." Harry growled, ignoring Dumbledore's dark expression "but it doesn't matter anymore I suppose."

"Doesn't matter? Potter, even if you believe yourself arrogant enough to meddle with time, all of this might just become a part of a fixed timeline." Severus replied slowly and very sharply, folding his arms across his chest. "Imagine someone went back in time to kill Adolf Hitler as a baby to prevent WWII. Then imagine that same person replacing the baby with an orphan child, so the family wouldn't notice. Consequently, when that person traveled back to his present time they find out the baby that was replaced grew up to become Adolf Hitler himself. This could be a fixed timeline, Potter. Thus, your efforts could be for naught."

"Or this could be a new timeline, a new dynamic." The elder Harry mused, stroking his white mustache "Either way, I must tell you my story. If there's even the slightest chance I can shift time, I must. The fate of the world depends on it. I understood a long time ago that I may not win immediately, but I would definitely."

"Then enlighten us, whatever the result." Albus said with a curious twinkle in his eye.

"Yes," Harry replied heavily "because whatever alternative timeline occurs, it will be far better than the one I came from. Infinitely more."

Harry took one last sip of his tea cup, draining it before setting it aside, and leaning forward on his knees. The ferocity of his gaze was scorching, but he didn't look up to meet the eyes of Albus or Severus. Instead, he fixed his concentration on one of Dumbledore's silver instruments as be began.

"Instead of telling you this brief history of our world," Harry spoke heavily "I think I should show you."

With the wave if his calloused hand towards Dumbledore's cabinet, surprising everyone, Harry summoned the Pensieve. It floated towards the trio and hovered in the center, gleaming ominously.

Harry was the first to stand and slowly, very slowly pulled his wand from the inside of his black robes…only it wasn't the same wand Albus or Severus remembered Harry Potter wielding.

"The Elder Wand." Albus breathed, looking down at his own Elder Wand clutched in his hand. "How?"

Severus Snape was the next to stand, throwing Potter a quick irritant glance. "Why am I not surprised?"

The elder Harry smirked placing the tip of his wand against his temple, pulling out strand after strand of silver memories and discarding them into the Pensieve.

"Its complicated." Harry remarked gently "Which is why I do _not_ intend to reveal everything to you tonight- lest you fall into madness."

"Have you any idea to who you are speaking?" Severus' voice grew dangerously cold, as he eyed the elder Harry Potter. "We are not weak-minded simpletons to be mollycoddled, Potter!"

"No matter how strong you think you are, the memories I have are delicate to me." The old wizard explained, adjusting his round rimmed glasses with his wand "I promise to reveal everything to you, Severus. I won't keep the truth from you, but I also won't drown you in them…by the way, what is todays date?"

"October 17th 1996." Albus answered, frowning in disappointment.

"So, Katie Bell has already been cursed with the opal necklace?" Harry asked discarding the last memory into the pensieve.

"She has." Severus replied curtly, something raw flickering in his black gaze before schooling his features.

Harry nodded, studying the memories with a morbid sort of expression.

"You know," Harry growled in a deep voice "When I was a boy, I had this great fear of everyone discovering I wasn't as great- strong- brave- or kind as everyone believed I was. I knew I wasn't any of those things from the start….and now you will too."

The memories swirled, silver white, and without hesitating, the three wizards dived into the Pensieve, unaware of what they would see.

A memory landed the three of them in The Chamber of Secrets.

 _ **A**_ _**12-year-old Harry knelt next to the corpse of a 60 ft Basilisk. The sword of Gryffindor lay by his side, as he clutched the fang piercing his forearm.**_

 _ **The snake itself had its eyes gouged out, and Harry was covered in its blood. His face was splattered, and weary from the venom pulsing through his veins. He looked up through his bloody eyelashes with a distant expression filled with despair and hate.**_

"Gracious," Albus took a step back in shock "I didn't realize the monster was so…"

"Monstrous?" The elder Harry laughed. "Yes, I suppose it was…but then again, I've faced worse."

Severus was busy studying the basilisk with a grim expression. He bowed to peer inside its mouth, focusing his black eyes on the gaping wound on the top of the snake's mouth, where the Sword of Gryffindor had pierced it.

As Severus straitened, he turned his focus back to the twelve-year-old Harry Potter, slumped on the floor. He noticed the cold look that entered the boy's green eyes, and something like innocence fading away.

Severus watched the runty boy open a black book in front of him, and then Tom Riddle spoke causing him to jerk around.

" _ **What are you doing?!" Tom shouted "Wait…STOP- NO!"**_

 _ **As Tom lunged forward, Harry tore the fang out of his arm and pierced the center of a black diary.**_

 _ **The diary began to bleed, and the phantom figure of Tom Riddle screamed in agony.**_

" _ **NOOOO!" Tom screamed in terror as his body was ripped apart by magic and exploded into nothingness.a**_

Albus glared at the spot where the memory of Tom Riddle stood. The scene began to dissolve, the echoes of Riddles scream still in their ears.

They fell headlong into the memory of a 16-year-old Harry drinking with Horace Slughorn and Hagrid, who were too drunk to realize they were pouring Harry pint after pint of mead.

"… _ **I once had a fish- Francis, he was very dear to me." Slughorn reminisced, leaning against his elbows. "One afternoon I came down stairs and he vanished…"**_

" _ **That's VERY odd iznit?" Hagrid shook his head in astonishment.**_

" _ **But that's life…I suppose?" Slughorn explained, with a slight slur "You go along, and then suddenly-poof!"**_

" _ **Poof!" Hagrid raised his glass, looking thoughtful, as he swayed.**_

"… _ **Poof." Harry breathed, watching as Hagrid passed out against the wall behind him and began to snore.**_

Dumbledore watched the memory with amusement, while Severus sneered at the drunkenness of his colleges, and their offering a minor alcohol.

 _ **A moment of silence descended between the younger Harry and Slughorn who studied Harry sadly.**_

" _ **A student gave me Francis…Then one spring afternoon I discovered a bowl of my desk with just a few inches of clear water…and floating on the surface was a flower petal." Slughorn spoke with a sad smile "As I watched it sank… before it hit the bottom, it transformed into a wee fish…The most beautiful magic. Wonderous to behold….the flower petal had come from a Lily- your mother."**_

The elder Harry watched Severus flinch, turning to stare at Slughorn intently. His black eyes glittered greedily. He was like a freight train, unable to stop himself from leaning in and devouring each word that was offered.

Knowing what would happen next, the elder Harry folded his arms and leaned against the inside of Hagrid's hut.

" _ **The day I came down stairs- the day the bowl was empty…was the day your mother…" Slughorn's eyes filled with tears, as the younger Harry stood and crossed the distance between the two of them.**_

 _ **The younger Harry knelt at Slughorn's feet, slipping his hand into the elder professor's.**_

 _ **Slughorn looked down into Harry's green eyes, squeezing the boys hand.**_

" _ **I know why you're here." Slughorn whispered, licking his lips "But I can't help you…It would ruin me."**_

Both Severus and Albus noticed the way Harry's hand slipped out of Slughorn's and rested on the older man's thigh, slowly smoothing it up the professor leg.

" _ **Do you know why I survived professor? The night I got this?" Harry spoke softly, raising a free youthful hand to his scar, while stroking Slughorn softy with his free hand "Because of her. Because she sacrificed herself. Because she refused to step aside. Because her love was more powerful than Voldemorts—"**_

" _ **Don't say his name!" Slughorn shot forward, now inches from Harry's youthful face.**_

" _ **I'm not afraid of the name, professor." Harry breathed, shaking his head and smiling "I'm going to tell you something. Something others have only guessed at."**_

 _ **The younger Harry leaned in brushing his lips against Slughorn's ear.**_

" _ **Its true." He hissed seductively, stroking his nose against the Potion Master's neck "I am the chosen one."**_

Severus stepped back, disgusted and horrified at what he was obviously seeing. Potter was seducing his Slughorn! Everyone's golden boy, Harry Potter!

He didn't want to watch this, much less believe it was actually happening!

He couldn't stop his stomach from clenching, as the younger Harry ran his mouth down Slughorn's neck .

 _ **And then just as quickly Harry pulled away, reaching out his hands to cup the back of Slughorn's neck.**_

" _ **Only**_ **I** _ **can destroy him, but in order to do that I need to know what Tom Riddle asked you all those years ago!" Harry whispered harshly, leaning his head against his professor's who stared in wide eyed awe of the 'Chosen One' "Be brave like my mother. Otherwise, you disgrace her- otherwise, she died for nothing… Otherwise, the bowl will remain empty…forever."**_

 _ **Slughorn looked up at Harry with a mixture of many emotions; guilt, fear, lust, sadness, awe. He lifted a hand to stroke Harry's lightning shaped scar, sucking in a shaky breath.**_

" _ **I know what you've wanted from me, sir." Harry smirked "I've known since the moment I met you."**_

" _ **I cannot." Slughorn shook his head, looking very old.**_

" _ **No," Harry agreed, allowing Slughorn to continue stroking his scar "I suppose not. You are too honorable for that. You always have been, I can see the struggle of it behind your eyes... Yes,**_ **you are** _ **honorable, sir. I admire you for it."**_

 _ **And then after another moment Slughorn took out a vial, and placed his wand to his temple, pulling out a silver strand of memory.**_

" _ **Please," Slughorn begged, looking into Harry's green eyes "Don't think badly of me when you see it…you have no idea what he was like, even then."**_

 _ **His hand shook as he tried to place the memory in the vial. Harry reached out to steady the man, closing his hand around Slughorn's, tenderly.**_

 _ **When it was done, Slughorn looked like a man who had seen his own death. Tears ran down his face, as he looked up at Harry deeply ashamed.**_

" _ **Thank you, sir." Harry smiled softly, reaching out to wipe away Slughorn's tears with the pad of his thumb "Thank you."**_

 _ **And as the memory began to fade, the image of Harry flashed- swooping down to press a kiss against the corner of the elder wizard's lips.**_

" _ **It'll be our little secret, sir." Harry whispered.**_

 _ **Then just as quickly, the he raced out of Hagrid's Hut towards the castle with the vial of memories in his hand.**_

"I didn't know the extent you would go to, to acquire these memories, Harry." Albus spoke solemnly, shaking his head. "When I gave you this mission—"

" _You_ sent him to do this!?" Severus spun around, his black robes billowing dramatically as he did so.

"He was drunk, and so was I." the elder Harry offered with a shrug, stroking his white beard "I also had a bit of liquid luck on my side. No big deal, just the future of humanity hanging in the balance. After putting that into perspective, it wasn't so hard."

"You seduced a teacher, Potter!" Snape stared in disbelief.

"Yeah, I did." The elder Harry smiled fondly as the memory shifted. "But it wouldn't be the last time."

A roar of color and sounds surrounded the trio in a cyclone of memories.

They landed inside of Dumbledore's office just as the younger Harry handed the vial of Slughorn's memories to the wizard.

 _ **The memory itself revealed a teenage Tom Riddle, circling Slughorn and eyeing him with a charming sort of expression. It was innocent and seductive. He smiled softly, gazing at Slughorn through his hooded eyelids.**_

Instantly, Severus jerked his head back and forth between the elder Harry and Tom riddle. There was an uncanny similarity when it came to how they lured in their prey. It was frightening how similar both seemed.

" _ **I was in the Library the other night- in the Restricted Section, and I read something rather odd." Tom Riddle said in an irresistibly innocent voice "about a bit of rare magic."**_

 _ **Tom paused licking his lips and looking down submissively. Slughorn narrowed his eyes on the boy, holding a glass of brandy. He studied Tom with an obsessive fascination, as he waited for the boy to speak.**_

" _ **Its called, as I understand it…" Tom paused, licking his lips "a horcrux."**_

 _ **Slughorn's eyes instantly hardened on the boy, looking as if he'd been struck "I beg your pardon?"**_

" _ **Horcrux." Tom stepped forward, cocking his head to the side "I came across the term while reading, and I didn't fully understand it."**_

Severus was quiet, his eyes were so intense that the elder Harry felt that everything, absolutely everything was at stake.

" _ **I'm not sure what your reading, Tom, but this is very dark stuff." Slughorn shook his head "Very dark indeed."**_

 _ **Tom took another step forward, nodding as if he'd been reprimanded.**_

" _ **Which is why I came to you." Tom looked up to meet Slughorn's eyes, which were filled with terror.**_

" _ **a horcrux is an object which one conceals a part of their soul." Slughorn said without blinking, studying Tom.**_

" _ **But I don't understand how that works." Tom said, folding his hands behind his back.**_

" _ **One splits one soul and hides a part of it in an object." Slughorn continued, looking slightly afraid, slightly lustful as Tom stepped closer to him. "by doing so, you are protected should you be attacked, and your body destroyed."**_

A flurry of emotions raced across Snape's face; fear, shock, distrust, anger…

"What?" Severus paled, turning to stare incredulously at Dumbledore who purposefully looked away from the scene. "No…surly you…YOU would have told me, Albus!"

Albus remained silent as he placed his wrinkled hand on Snape's shoulder. Great rasping breaths tore out of Severus as he shrugged the old wizard violently off of him.

"You should have told me." Severus shook his head "You had no right sending me… ordering me- sacrificing me to _him._ Not without telling me everything…not without being—"

" _ **Protected?" Tom asked.**_

" _ **The soul that is hidden lives on." Slughorn explained breathlessly "In other words…you cannot die."**_

"No…" Severus turned to stare at the elder Potter, his expression begging the old wizard to tell him it wasn't true.

" _ **How does one split their soul?" Tom asked, looking into the fireplace toying with Marvolo's ring around his finger.**_

" _ **I think you already know the answer to that, Tom."**_

" _ **Murder." Tom hissed, smiling pleasantly.**_

" _ **yes, killing rips the soul apart… it's a violation against nature." Slughorn whispered, shaking his head.**_

" _ **Can you only split the soul once?" Tom asked ever more sweetly, his face lacking natural human expression. "For instance, seven?"**_

" _ **Seven? Merlin's beard, Tom." Slughorn whispered in horror, looking as if he were seeing Riddle for the first time. "Isn't it enough to consider killing one person- to rip the soul into seven pieces...t-this is all hypothetical isn't it Tom? All academic?"**_

 _ **Slowly, Tom turned away from the fireplace, his stoic face blossoming into a small fraction of a smile. Tom stepped forward until he was inches from Slughorn.**_

" _ **Of course, sir," Tom leaned across to whisper in Slughorn's ear, brushing his nose against the man's neck "It'll be our little**_ **secret."**

Severus stared at Dumbledore murderously "You should have told me!"

"My boy, I could not risk Voldemort finding out." Dumbledore replied, without a trace of remorse in his old voice. "I did what was necessary."

"I RISK LOSING MY LIFE!" Severus shouted as the scene changed, staggering away from Albus.

"Not if _I_ have anything to say about it." The elder Harry muttered, causing Snape to glare daggers at him.

For a moment, the elder Harry wondered, in amusement, if Snape might actually attack him. He threw Harry a disgusted look before the scene began dissolving.

When they landed the three wizards were standing near the forest outside of Hogsmeade.

 _ **It was pouring rain in the middle of the night. The grumble of the thunder was terrible and blasted across the Scotland landscape. As the lightning flashed, two cloaked figures were illuminated.**_

" _ **I should kill you for what you did to me." The voice of Draco Malfoy spoke, pulling aside his robe to reveal hundreds of slice scars marring his pale flesh.**_

" _ **Yes." The voice of Harry Potter spoke over the pounding rain, drawing back his hood so the rain could wash over his face "I suppose you should, but we both know that's not going to happen. You don't actually hate me enough."**_

" _ **No, I don't exactly hate you," Draco sneered "but let's just say, if you were on fire and I had a goblet of water- I'd drink it."**_

 _ **Another flash of lightning caused the boys to see each other's contemptuous stares.**_

" _ **Of course." Harry nodded, leaning against a tree "but I'm not the one who wanted to meet in secret. What do you want?"**_

 _ **This seemed to light something in Malfoy's eyes. His usual sleek blonde hair lay in a mess, fringing over his brow.**_

" _ **A way out." Draco replied quietly. "a fucking way out of this mess."**_

" _ **Really?"**_

" _ **Well…not exactly." Draco sighed, looking determinedly away from Harry "Don't misunderstand me, I**_ **do** _ **want out, but**_ **he** _ **has my family and sleeps under the same roof as them. Leaving would be a death sentence…but that doesn't mean I enjoy serving the snake bastard. Surly you can understand self-preservation…well actually, I don't think you could."**_

 _ **Draco was rambling, but Harry was studying the sickly thin Slytherin with concern and suspicion.**_

" _ **Sorry if I'm not convinced. After all the blood supremacy rhetoric that's vomited out of your mouth, I don't think I can trust you." Harry replied doubtfully, twirling his wand in his hand "Also, you look like shit."**_

" _ **Thanks, today I'm wearing a nice dark shade of torture under my eyes." Draco muttered bitterly, walking towards the same tree as Harry to lean against the opposite side "If you're interested in the same look, I recommend watching your loved one's wither under the Cruciatus. Really give my waxy complexion a pop of color."**_

 _ **A Lull of heavy silence followed. For a long time, the two of them leaned against the tree, silently staring out into the heavy rain. It was soothing despite the thunder and flashes of lightning.**_

"It's just as you've told me, Severus." Albus muttered, risking a glance at the tall dark wizard.

"Its worse." Severus ground out, throwing the younger Harry a filthy look. "Much worse."

Meanwhile, the elder Harry turned an icy glare towards his younger counterpart and had been since he brushed Draco's pleas aside. Albus noticed the genuine anger pouring off of Harry, placing a hand of comfort on the old wizard's shoulder. But this did nothing to soothe Harry as his burning emerald eyes stared at his younger self.

" _ **So," Harry said quietly, toeing the mud absently "does our meeting have anything to do with…**_ **her?"**

" _ **What?" Draco snapped, jerking his head towards the sound of Potters voice. His grey eyes widened with undisguised shock.**_

" _ **Its just, I've seen you staring at her quite a few times." Harry smiled in triumph, hearing the panicked tone in Draco's voice. "Nothing to be ashamed of—"**_

" _ **That isn't any concern of yours, Potter." Draco snapped, pulling his hood further over his face to shield himself.**_

 _ **The heavy wind blew threw the forest causing the ancient trees to creek and moan. Inside the forest Harry could hear the howling of an animal, which reminded him fondly of Lupin. Meanwhile, Draco had his long thin arms wrapped around himself, protectively. He looked like he wanted to sink into the earth, and didn't bother using magic to keep the rain from soaking into his cloak. Instead he raised his chin and shut his eyes as the rain fell over his deathly pale face.**_

" _ **Sorry I sliced you up like a holiday ham." Harry said suddenly, startling Draco out of his concentration.**_

" _ **You suck at apologies, Potter." Draco smirked, still keeping his chin raised.**_

" _ **Well, unfuck you…or whatever." Harry chuckled, dropping his head back against the tree.**_

" _ **Forgive and forget doesn't exactly go with this outfit." Draco replied playfully, pushing himself off the trunk "Will fuck off and die work for you?"**_

 _ **At this Harry let out a genuine laugh, rolling sideways to meet Draco's piercing grey eyes.**_

" _ **Sure, Malfoy." Harry smiled without a hint of hostility "Whatever you say."**_

 _ **Another silence fell as both boys stared at one another. Lightning struck again, flashing the sky with bright light. This time neither boy looked contemptuous, instead they appeared afraid and hesitant.**_

" _ **I really want out, you know…But I don't have a choice." Draco whispered harshly in a shaky voice. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal an ugly dark mark.**_

" _ **He owns me. And I may end up doing something…something bad, Potter.**_ **Really** _ **bad. But if I could, I'd take my family and flee. I just… wanted you to know that."**_

 _ **Harry stared oddly transfixed by the sight of the tattoo. He felt an overwhelming need to reached out and touch the mark. As his fingers hovered above the mark Draco grabbed a handful of Harry's black hair and yanked it back.**_

 _ **Harry didn't fight and almost seemed to expect it. His neck was craned back, exposing the flesh of his neck to Draco, who looked down with a deadly sort of calm. With his other hand, the Draco pulled the front of Harry's robes towards him so both their chests pressed against one another.**_

" _ **Are you mad? You're lucky I don't cut tour hand off." Draco whispered without malice, leaning in inches away from Harry "If its touched, the mark can summon the Dark Lord."**_

" _ **I like to live on the edge, makes me feel alive." Harry shrugged, unafraid "I just wondered if your connection to him felt the same as mine."**_

 _ **And then in a fleeting moment of insanity, the 16-year-old Harry Potter grabbed the front of Draco's robes and crushed his mouth against the blonde's**_

 _ **Draco stifled a gasp as Harry shoved him against the tree hard enough to crack his skull, but neither boy cared. Harry kissed Draco deeper and deeper. The torrential rain pounded angrily as Draco grabbed Harry by the throat. The aristocratic blonde bit Harry's mouth roughly as he kissed back, indifferent to the violent storm going on around them.**_

 _ **The kiss wasn't passionate in the least. It was angry, afraid and desperate, and felt as essential as air did to a drowning man. There was nothing sexual about the kiss. They were two lonely, terrified boys who needed to feel**_ **something** _ **. The weight of the world rested on their shoulders, and this was only a fleeting outlet for the pain.**_

 _ **Finally, after what seemed like ages, Draco pulled away looking utterly lost and repulsed by what he had just done. Harry mirrored his sick expression with added self-loathing.**_

" _ **Fuck!" Draco hissed shoving Harry away violently, causing him to stumble and fall into the mud "Fuck you Potter!"**_

" _ **Merlin's cunt" Harry shouted near hysteric "Please don't, Malfoy!"**_

 _ **Draco pulled out a cigarette from his inner robes, casting a spell over them to make them water resistant. He didn't give Harry a second glance, who remained on his back in the mud. He watched Draco spark a small flame from his shaking thumb with a snap of his fingers, as the blonde took a long draw from his cigarette.**_

" _ **I wonder if life smokes a cigarette after it fucks us?" Harry muttered bitterly, massaging his bruised throat. He closed his running a hand over his face and inhaled the smoke Draco exhaled.**_

" _ **I only came to warn you, Potter." Draco snapped, rubbing his mouth angrily. "Before you lost your fucking mind!"**_

" _ **I'm under no obligation to make sense to you, Malfoy." Harry muttered with smirk "but while we're on the topic, I seem to recall you kissing me right ba—"**_

" _ **Watch out for the Dark Lord's pet." Draco cut off, taking another drag from his cigarette.**_

" _ **Nagini?" Harry looked up at Draco, all humor gone.**_

" _ **Yes." Draco said airily, looking back towards the castle in the distance "for some reason she's important to him. He's obsessed with the beast. I don't know why, but when I'm near the two of them…I feel like…"**_

" _ **Like what?"**_

 _ **Draco still kept his grey eyes on the castle as he spoke. "Like they share a connection… I feel they are linked by something dark and torn… much like you, Potter."**_

 _ **Harry sat up quickly, his green eyes widening in realization.**_

" _ **Like… they share the same soul?" Harry whispered frantically, lifting himself to his feet.**_

Albus watched the younger Draco with rapt focus, stepping closer to him.

The elder Harry leaned against a tree in the background. He was also eyeing the younger Draco, but with a heartbroken, mournful expression. He looked to have wanted to jump into his own memory and say something to Draco.

Severus glanced towards the forlorn old wizard, wondering what he was thinking. The Potions Master dismissed the elder Potter's expression and turned back towards the scene not realizing how much this was affecting him.

" _ **Soul?" Draco tore his eyes away from the castle to meet Harry's green eyes "Yes, exactly like that."**_

 _ **Harry turned away from Draco, sprinting away.**_

" _ **And Potter?" Draco called out causing Harry to skid to a halt, turning back around.**_

" _ **Yea?"**_

" _ **Whatever… Whatever I end up becoming- or doing" Draco explained quietly, toeing the mud with his leather boot "will you just remember why I'm doing it?"**_

 _ **Harry studied Draco for a moment then nodded.**_

" _ **Sure…Thanks for the info, Malfoy." Harry smiled, summoning Draco's cigarette out of his mouth and into his hand, then took a drag from it "Also, quit smoking. You already look like shit, don't want to add to it."**_

" _ **Clearly this evening has proved I like anything that's bad for me." Draco sneered, pulling out another stick from his robes.**_

" _ **Clearly." Harry smirked as he sprinted away.**_

"Nagini?" Albus weakly, his blue eyes were enormous, and bulging "A Horcrux?"

The little color in Snape's face drained even further. His face seemed translucent, pale, and sunken. The elder Harry narrowed his worn green eyes, feeling a sense of protectiveness over his old Potions Master.

"Yes." Harry answered balefully. "We'll get more to that later…for now need the two of you to focus."

 _ **The next memory landed the three wizards in the middle of a vast cave. Two figures came into view kneeling on a crystalized rock in the middle of the lake within the cave.**_

" _ **It has to be drunk." Came the echoing voice of Albus Dumbledore, quietly "All of it has to be drunk. Do you remember the conditions to which I brought you with me, Harry?"**_

 _ **Harry looked into the elder wizards face helplessly, shaking his head in denial.**_

" _ **Sir, please—"**_

" _ **No Harry. This potion may paralyze me. Might make me forget why I'm here. Might cause me so much pain that I beg for relief." Dumbledore whispered, clutching the sides of the silver bowl in from of him. "you are not to indulge these requests. Its your job, harry to make sure I keep drinking this potion…Even if you have to force it down my throat- understood Harry?"**_

" _ **Let me drink it sir…Please." Harry begged.**_

" _ **I am much older, much cleverer, and much less valuable." Dumbledore weakly smiled, reaching to wipe away the tear that escaped Harry's eye.**_

 _ **And then Albus reached for the cup and raised it in a toast "To your good health, Harry."**_

 _ **It seemed like hours. The screams were horrific, and soon Albus could no longer stand, much less hold a cup. He lay on the ground crying out helplessly.**_

" _ **Please sir!" the younger Harry cried as he forced the headmaster jaw open. "Please drink! Just one more! Oh God- Please!"**_

Severus watched Potter shove mouthful after mouthful of the Potion of Despair into Dumbledore's screaming mouth.

The scream was terrible because Severus had never expected or dreamed that such a powerful wizard as Albus Dumbledore could make such a sound. But the wizard's pleas were worse than his screams and remained unanswered.

" _ **Please Harry! No more! I can't bear it!" Albus screamed terribly.**_

" _ **I'm sorry sir!" the memory of Harry cried, shaking as he grabbed a fistful of the man's white hair, jerking his head back "Please, open your mouth! Just one more!"**_

" _ **KILL ME!" Albus screamed, his voice shaking the walls of the cave, reverberating back.**_

" _ **THIS ONE WILL KILL YOU!" Harry screamed, straddling the headmaster as he tried to pry open his mouth with his fingers "PLEASE! PLEASE DRINK!"**_

 _ **And then hesitantly the old wizard did, heavy tears streaming down his face.**_

 _ **After a moment the man lay silent, no longer afflicted by the potion.**_

 _ **Harry reached out to grab the Slytherin's locket, when suddenly a skeletal arm grabbed him and dragged him under the dark waters below.**_

 _ **Dumbledore remained motionless as Harry sank deeper and deeper. Hundreds of skeletal figures clawed at the boy, dragging him down…down…down.**_

The scene changed making Severus and Albus cry out, momentarily forgetting that it was only a memory. The lunged forward at the image of Harry, unable to stop him from being dragged to hell.

As the memory dissolved into wisps, Severus pointed his wand at the memory of Harry drowning.

"Acsendio!" He hissed, but it was all for naught.

"It's alright, Severus." The elder Harry reached for the Potions Master, squeezing his shoulder "I made it out. Albus saved me just in time."

Severus jerked away from him, unable to look the elder Potter in the eye.

"Of _course_ , he did."

 _ **Suddenly, they were on top of the Astronomy Tower.**_

 _ **Draco stood shaking in front of Dumbledore, pointing his wand at Dumbledore's chest.**_

" _ **Draco, you are no assassin." Dumbledore spoke gently.**_

" _ **How do you know what I am?" Draco hissed "I've done things that would shock you! Terrible things!"**_

 _ **Below a young Harry Potter watched the interaction with panic and agitation.**_

" _ **Like cursing Katie Bell, hoping she would bear a cursed necklace to me? Like replacing a bottle of mead with one laced with poison?" Dumbledore shook his head "Forgive me, but I can't believe these actions are so weak that your heart couldn't have been in them."**_

" _ **HE TRUSTS ME!" Draco shouted, pulling up the sleeve of his shirt, revealing the Dark Mark. "AND I CAN'T ALLOW HIM TO BELIVE OTHERWISE!"**_

 _ **Dumbledore looked on sadly, raising his hands in surrender.**_

" _ **I shall make this easy for you then." He replied but was disarmed by a frightened Draco Malfoy. "Oh…very good. Very good, Draco. But there are others- how?"**_

" _ **The vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement, I've been repairing it!" Draco spat with no amount of pride. Instead, he looked ashamed as if he hated himself and every word that came out of his mouth**_

" _ **Yes, it has a sister?"**_

 _ **Draco nodded "at Borgen and Burkes."**_

"Ingenious." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.

The elder Harry nearly laughed if the memory hadn't been one of his worst.

" _ **Ingenious." The memory of Dumbledore said, taking a step forwards "Draco, years ago I knew a boy who made all the wrong choices. Please, let me help you."**_

" _ **I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!" Draco cried, tears streaming down his tortured face "Don't you understand? I have to do this! I**_ **have** _ **to kill you…Or he's going to kill my family."**_

 _ **Draco was looked beyond broken and desperate. The dark circles beneath his eyes made him look like a corpse. He looked thin, so think that he might break.**_

 _ **Then just as suddenly Bellatrix followed by the other Death Eaters ran up the spiral stair case. Beneath, the younger Harry pointed his wand, ready to attack. Dumbledore glanced down in warning for Harry not to move.**_

" _ **Well, well, well, look what we have here? Well done Draco." Bellatrix hissed, kissing Draco on the side of his tear stained cheek.**_

" _ **Evening, Bellatrix." Dumbledore smiled "I think introductions are in order?"**_

" _ **Love to Albus, but we're running on a tight schedule!" Bella hissed turning to Draco, dangerously "DO IT!"**_

" _ **He doesn't have the stomach, Bella!" One Death Eater taunted with a harsh laugh.**_

Severus wanted to step into the memory. He wished he could step in and help. He felt so helpless, and so angry _ **.**_

" _ **A coward, just like his father!" Another Death Eater laughed. "Let me finish him in my own way!"**_

" _ **NO! it must be done as the Dark Lord wanted!" Bella screamed, turning back to her nephew "do it Draco! NOW!"**_

" _ **No." spoke a cool voice, and from the shadows came a tall dark figure.**_

 _ **It was Severus Snape.**_

Severus watched the memory of himself, clenching his fists as if remembering something very important.

And then Severus stepped back, his black eyes wide.

Beside him Albus looked pityingly upon both Severus', unable to communicate what he understood was about to happen.

 _ **Severus stepped forward, staring at Dumbledore with such a frighteningly blank expression. All seemed well, and the younger Harry beneath the stairs, seemed to share the same sigh of relief.**_

" _ **Severus…Please." Dumbledore implored "Please."**_

 _ **And then Severus lifted his wand and spoke in a voice which held no remorse "Avada Kedavra!"**_

Severus sank to his knees as he watched himself kill Albus Dumbledore.

 _ **As the green light hit the wizard, the light behind his twinkling blue eyes vanished. His body arched into the air and fell over the edge of the tower. Everything seemed to slow down. Time seemed to vanish.**_

 _ **Until the sound of Dumbledore's body slammed into the ground with a sickening thud.**_

Both Severus Snape, and Albus stood shoulder to shoulder, watching the scene unfold like a horror film.

"I don't understand." Severus whispered, turning to Albus who nodded.

"But I do." He replied looking down at his own twisted body at the bottom of the Astronomy tower. "I understand exactly what happened. This was done on my orders."

"What?" Snape demanded, stepping away from Albus as the scene changed.

"I ordered you to kill me, Severus. I know I did, because it's what I wanted to discuss with you today…before everything happened."

"Its true." The elder Harry nodded solemnly "He ordered you to do it so Draco could be spared, and so Voldemort would finally trust you completely."

Severus was silent for a moment as the scene began to dissolve and they were sucked back up.

After what seemed like years, the trio retreated from the Pensieve looking pale and hallow. Most surprising of all was the sound of bitter laughter coming from Severus.

The dark man continued to laugh as he flashed his wand towards the headmaster's desk and obliterated it into a million pieces with a single spell.

Albus did nothing to stop the potions master, but instead watched stoically.

The elder Harry sniffed the air and turned to find the elder Draco Malfoy sitting against one of the Headmaster bookcases, smoking a cigarette. His worn cane was leaning against the bookshelf as well, as if Draco were in his own home.

The thin blonde watched on as he flicked his ash onto the floor, carelessly.

"Merlin, I hate you!" Severus screamed as his laughter died away, blasting the headmasters chair into dust. "I HATE YOU!"

"You tell him, Sev." Draco exhaled a puff of smoke which resembled a flying dragon, finally catching the potion masters attention.

Severus spun around pointing his wand towards the sound of Draco's voice, then immediately lowered it. It appeared that Severus had forgotten about the elderly Draco Malfoy, nearly firing a curse in his direction.

Harry cocked an eyebrow, noticing a dozen cigarette buds crushed beside Draco. The air was hazy from the smoke, but no one seemed to care. Harry pulled himself away from Severus and Albus to crouch in front of Draco, who offered his cigarette to the old wizard, absently.

Harry took the smoke, inhaling deeply.

"Where did you find these?" Harry asked, exhaling pleasurably "Thought you quit smoking?"

"Well, my 16-year-old self still does, and I remember which compartment in his trunk that he keeps them in." Draco muttered, patting the empty space beside him for Harry to sit. "So I see all went well?"

"What do you think?" Harry groaned as he sat, his joints cracking "Too old for this shit."

Draco nodded, ignoring the bewildered stares from the Headmaster and Snape.

"Thought you were going into the woods to scream?" Harry asked, passing the cigarette back

Draco shrugged, "That was the plan…until I saw Mrs. Malfoy."

"Your mum?"

"the other one." Draco exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Oh." Harry nodded "want to talk about it?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Okay." Harry nodded curtly.

Meanwhile, neither of the elderly wizards saw Albus and Severus looking down at them, with a storm of emotions.

"Can't we just have a quiet year?" Harry asked, running a wrinkled calloused hand through his silver and grey hair "We're too old for this…much too old."

"I suppose….but then I think…when did the dragon ever die from the bite of a snake?" Draco mused, glancing up at Severus seriously "Although, snakes can be quite bothersome at the best of times."

"Says the dragon." Harry chuckled deeply, taking another drag."


End file.
